3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

Poochella, the first 9 or 10 years were devoted to comparing the Saranwrapping with various storing media....sand, vermiculite, peat moss, sawdust, cedar chips etc. I would use the same clump and store half of the tubers in Saran and half in 1 gallon plastic bags with the storage medium. That way I was able to make a valid comparison on which method proved to be the most effective. It was only then that I told my dahlia growing friends to try the Saran method. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of Saran. Our local dahlia society was resistant for the same reason many dahlia vendors are. Our society raises thousands of dollars at 2 tuber auctions every year and any method that would make tuber storage easier and more reliable would cut into their annual intake.
There is still some local skepticism and I must admit that I too had my doubts when my wife first suggested that we give it a try. After the initial tries, I mentioned it to Dr. Peters and he was the one who was the motivating force behind writing an article and having it published in the American Dahlia Society Bulletin. The overall reaction worldwide however is positive and many societies request permission to distribute copies to the membership.
Three years ago we were still experimenting. Some large and bulbous tubers were difficult to wrap in Saran, so we tried wrapping in aluminum foil. The results are the same as Saran.
Lady Marian gets her daily hugs not only for her idea but for being the wonderful person she is.

Great information! Will try the Saran method.

Lost almost all my tubers...don't use potting soil.
They shriveled up.
All my non-dahlia bulbs in peat moss were fine.
Sigh, I'm not alone. We had such nice dinner plates.

Also, if the weather gets rainy and my stalks haven't gone brown yet,
I pull out with some of the garden soil
and let the plant die down in pot out of the rain.

Wendeyzee, your seeds that you planted make tubers, that can be dug up an stored.

Seed collection was discussed earlier and you can believe what Plantlady and Jroot both say.

Here is a link that might be useful: collecting seeds

Well, that was my question exactly. Here in Northern Calif. we don't get the freeze and we don't dig up our dahlias unless it is to divide them. I was thinking of the large clump since it has already been there for over a year.

Okay.... If it were me, I would dig and move the Dahlia.

Here is another offering of Goodwill 90 twins from August: I think it was the camera being set on INDOOR lighting for the first two weeks I had it! Cannot believe they let blondes have sophisticated electronics without a license.

Poochella,
I have 3 more buds on Goodwin 90 so when they blossom, I'll get another shot of them and post it. Then we can compare again.

I also got a new camera and I think the saying goes for brunettes or better yet the on coming of grey as well as blondes!!!lol

Your photo and and blooms are just magnificent! My dahlia's are doing their thing now that we had some rain. Better late then never! Rumor has it that frost is on it's way in two weeks, UCK!!!! Hope it holds back a little longer than that otherwise I will have to do the sheet shuffle.

Thanks for the guesses! At least now I have something to say "looks like such and such" if someone wants to trade for a tuber later on....and don't look too close under the nail...I have a hard time getting the dirt out. Garden gloves and me just don't get along. :-)

Nightnurse, my entire commute to work is spent trying to clean under my nails: thumbs are the worst. Traffic is bad, so I'm not endangering anyone.

I wanted to guess Karras 150 or Alden Snowlodge because they are the only two I know that are even close, but I don't think close enough.

How tall is your plant?

Someone mentioned somewhere that a pencil on vinyl blind slats worked well. I have not tried that.

Here are some ideas from the Winter Sowing folks:

Here is a link that might be useful: Long lasting labels

Alyrics way to go! Is that bloom the result of what broke off and you stuck back into the pot, or from the greenery that sprouted from buried tubers whose growth got broken off? Either way, I think you've pulled off a major dahlia coup.

Thanks for the Atta-girl! This is the stalk that broke off and I stuck back in the pot - it has 2 more buds coming now. It got about 45" tall. The original tuber has some growth but I still don't see any sign of buds - it stayed pretty small. Here's a photo of it fully open. I didn't use a flash but plan to go back out tomorrow morning to see if I can get a better photo. Can't believe I said Otto's Thrill is gaudy - I love this. Esp in mid-September.

Here is a link that might be useful: Otto's Thrill

Oooh! You've got four huge beauties there and I bet people just go nuts over them! Willow's right, once you get the hang of photos, you'll be posting up a storm in no time. Don't be shy! We all want to see your blooms.

Nice job on those flowers! Do you know the names of the white, red and purple ones?

The white is "Fleurel", the red is "Garden Wonder", and the purple is "Lavender Perfection". This is year 2 for all of these. They did very well after a late start. The weather wasn't very cooperative. Their size is incredible - up to 9 inches. I'll post more photos soon.

You can spray them with the same thing that you spray your roses with. We frequently use the Rose Pride stuff on our dahlias.

This year, the powdery mildew is HORRIBLE in my area. I have seen it on so many different plants all over town. I tried a solution of 3 parts water to one part milk - it worked amazingly well...went out to spray again a week later, and noticed all kinds of lush new growth, and a huge decrease in the mildew. I have treated twice, and now it's pretty much all gone. Maybe give it a shot?

Michele

Poochella thanks and LOL at the giant bees! Yes they are between 2-3 inches. I have six plants (and because I went back and looked at that winter sowing picture from March I see that I planted about six seeds! Each one is different but they all formed clumps about 2.5 feet tall. They started to bloom well in July but now they are completely loaded with buds and flowers. I haven't cut anything (so happy with how the garden turned out this year that I didn't want to spoil it), but finally made one arrangement this week and I included one of these Stargazers. So far I'm on day four and it looks exactly like it did the day I cut it.

Andrea you're writing a book? I'll have to hear more about that! I probably won't save the seeds (I still have most of the package left from this spring) but I really am interested in saving the tubers of these guys because I love them so much. I failed miserably last year and I'm hoping to figure it out this season. The verbena combo sounds lovely.

I also planted seed last spring, and they bloomed before the tubered one. They have bloomed and bloomed.

I have several that have done that this year and they aren't very attractive, Rip City, Coral Gypsy, Mojave,& Jennifer's Wedding. Time to get new I guess.

Fire and Ice for me. Great vibrant colors- not one flower, produced from many, that I would put in a vase. OOOOH I hope My Jennifers Wedding lasts for a few years- great color!

Willow, Lauren Michelle is 5 ft tall, blooms from 3-4, maybe 5 inches across. Really a lovley waterlily- the highlight for me being the edges all surrounded in the darker purple of the underpetals; something just a little different.

Pitimpani, email me which ones you get Red X's on and I'll email you a photo.

I could see them all at work. :-) Gorgeous. I wonder what I can offer for trade. :-P